Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Busy being busy

Collin's surgery went well. Ridiculously well. As well as that kind of surgery could possibly go. Three hours instead of 5-6, no grafting of cheeks, smooth (if painful) recovery. We are thankful. Three weeks later, his catheter has been removed and he's healing like a champ. His esophagus and heartburn are another story. Here he is post-op and feeling loopy:

Elinor is still in the 75th percentile for height (50th for weight). We're still not sure how this is possible. (Also, note how much she's changed in the past month: this pic is from this week.)

She coos and laughs for everyone, but she makes The Saddest Face in the World if someone else is holding her and she sees me walk away. Guess she's a mama's girl.

She sucks on everything but a pacifier, my finger being her chew toy of choice. If I pull my finger out of her mouth, she protests violently and shrilly until I put it back.

She still thinks baths and getting dressed are funny. (And this pic is from last month!)

She was sick with croup for a week and hasn't slept the
same since. We're hoping it'll go back to normal soon (or better yet,
through the night!).

Elinor is a lovely name, and we use it often. Sometimes we shorten it to Elle or Ellie. Sometimes it's Baltimore (from the old "apple core" joke), Smellinor (when she poos), or Elisnore (when she's sleeping, and she really does snore, though it sounds more like rhythmic sighing). Yes, we chose a good name.

Sammy has become the main affection-giving brother. He's a bit more... enthusiastic with his attentions, but his intentions are sweet.

He is Isaac's little shadow and does whatever his big brother is doing, though he's perfectly happy to make up his own games too. As a result, he's counting to 20 (with some mistakes) and pretend-reading. He's also super into grocery shopping, both real and pretend. He made his own version of Costco using couch cushions the other morning and was rather pleased with it. He's always carrying stuff (mostly cars and large wooden beads, which he calls "cookies") around in little bags, too. Here he is "cooking" his beads instead of stringing them, because that was so 5 minutes ago.

Isaac has discovered the joy of storytelling, or rather, the joy of being told stories. He prefers that to books at bedtime, and always comes up with the most *creative* topics for us. "I want a SILLY story about a ball!" "I want a very silly, SILLY story about a dinosaur who wants to become a toy!" "How about a house that can drive?"

Isaac is reading and writing more and more. He's starting to write out words on his own by sounding them out. This morning he wrote GRMA CO (Grandma Coco) on his own, which is pretty decent for a 5-year old trying to figure things out by himself.